The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ($SPY) experienced a modest increase of 0.3%, while the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust ($QQQ) rose by 0.8% during Friday's premarket trading as reports emerged from Washington indicating a lower-than-expected increase in employment figures. In addition to individual stock movements, US stock futures displayed slight gains, with S&P 500 Index futures edging up 0.01%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gaining 0.02%, and Nasdaq futures appreciating by 0.1% ahead of the commencement of regular trading hours. The employment report for February, released at 8:30 am ET, detailed a month-over-month growth of 151,000 in nonfarm payrolls, an increase following January's figure of 125,000.
This result fell short of Bloomberg's estimates, which predicted a more substantial gain of 160,000. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, marginally deviating from expectations that indicated no change from the previous figure. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to present on the "Economic Outlook" at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business at 12:30 pm ET.
The Baker Hughes domestic oil-and-gas rig count will be reported at 1 pm ET. Several Federal Reserve officials are slated to speak throughout the morning. Federal Reserve New York President John Williams and Governor Michelle Bowman will address the audience at 10:15 am ET, while Governor Adriana Kugler will share insights at 12:20 pm ET and 1 pm ET. In the cryptocurrency space, Bitcoin saw an uptick of 0.2%, and the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF ($BITO) recorded a slight gain of 0.1% in premarket trading. Power Plays: The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) rose by 0.5%, and the iShares US Technology ETF ($IYW) climbed 0.7%.
The iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ($IGM.US) notably increased by 1.1%. Within the semiconductor sector, the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ($XSD) recorded a growth of 0.7%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF ($SOXX) rose by 1%. In contrast, Hewlett Packard Enterprise ($HPE) witnessed a significant decline of over 18% in premarket trading, a reaction following the company's release of a lower-than-anticipated Q2 earnings forecast and its announcement of plans to reduce its workforce by 5%, impacting approximately 2,500 employees over the next 12 to 18 months. Shifting our focus to winners and losers in different sectors: In the Industrial sector, the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLI) remained virtually unchanged, while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ($VIS) increased by 0.6%.
The iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) had no notable activity. Serve Robotics ($SERV) faced a drop of over 9% prior to the market open as the company filed a registration statement on Thursday for a proposed sale of securities totaling up to $300 million. In Health Care, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLV) dipped 0.2%, while the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ($VHT) experienced a minor decrease of 0.01%.
The iShares US Healthcare ETF ($IYH) remained inactive, and the iShares Biotechnology ETF ($IBB) dropped 0.01%. On a positive note, Walgreens Boots Alliance ($WBA) shares rose by 6% in early trading, following news that the company has agreed to be acquired and taken private by an affiliate of Sycamore Partners in a transaction valued at up to $23.7 billion. Looking at the Financial sector, the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) saw a slight uptick of 0.2%.
Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ($FAS.US) advanced by 1.1%, while its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ($FAZ), fell by 0.4%. Blackstone ($BX) shares climbed by nearly 1% in premarket trading after registering a 4.2% decline the previous day, supported by the announcement regarding the closure of its Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies V fund, with total capital commitments of approximately $8 billion. In the Energy sector, the iShares US Energy ETF ($IYE) gained 0.5%, and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLE) saw a rise of 0.7%. Vitesse Energy ($VTS) observed a growth of over 2% ahead of the market opening, attributed to the announcement of its acquisition of Lucero Energy. In the Consumer sector, the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLP) and the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund ($VDC) remained flat, while the iShares US Consumer Staples ETF ($IYK) showed no activity.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLY) saw a slight decline of 0.1%. Both the VanEck Retail ETF ($RTH) and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF ($XRT) experienced declines, with the latter down 0.7%. Toyota Motor ($TM) shares rose by more than 1% in pre-bell trading, following multiple reports indicating that the company, alongside its Chinese partner Guangzhou Automobile Group, has initiated order acceptance in China for their smart electric vehicle, Bozhi 3X. Lastly, in the realm of commodities, front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices increased by 1.3%, settling at $67.21 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Meanwhile, natural gas prices fell by 3.1% to $4.17 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) advanced by 1.8%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) experienced a 2.2% decline. Gold futures for April fell by 0.2% to $2,921.30 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures decreased by 1.3% to $32.92 an ounce.
SPDR Gold Shares ($GLD) recorded a slight increase of 0.3%, with the iShares Silver Trust ($SLV) seeing a decrease of 0.8%..